


Free To Be Us

by Redamber79



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Anal Sex, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blow Jobs, Claiming Bites, Explicit Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Kidnapping, M/M, Minor Canonical Character(s), Minor Gabriel/Sam Winchester, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Castiel/Alpha Dean Winchester, Rimming, Semi-Public Sex, Smut, Strangers to Lovers, Suicide attempt mentioned, Switching, broken bonds, emancipation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:47:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25395625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redamber79/pseuds/Redamber79
Summary: In a Dystopian world, Alphas and Omegas are rare. So rare that they meet only at semi-annual, semi-corrupt conventions organized by Betas, all for the purpose of breeding. Dean is one such Alpha, prized more for his seed than for himself, and untouched. Raised to value the system, he's about to have his world turned upside down, and it all starts with a decadent scent.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 26
Kudos: 244





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be PWP. I was fine with that. Then they caught the feels, and then the angst, and then the happy ending had to happen, because I said so.
> 
> Thanks Nickelkeep for Beta-ing for me!

Dean wandered through the rental hall, looking over the Omegas gathered along the opposite wall. This was a meeting of the two groups, under the strict eyes of the Betas to make sure everyone behaved with proper decorum and respect. Frankly, they'd sucked all the fun out of mating, and Dean was headed to the Alpha bar when an incredible scent made him stumble. An Omega, ripe and decadent, was close by, but unlike any Omega he'd scented before. Their sickly sweet floral scents usually just gave him a headache, but this, like rich chocolate and a faint dusting of cinnamon had his mouth watering. He looked around, careful not to look too eager as he searched, knowing he didn't want to alert any of the other Alphas standing around the room. Finally, he spotted him. 

A male Omega and the sneaky thing was ordering a drink from the Alpha bar, no less. He watched, mesmerized, as the Omega threw back his whiskey, the strong column of his throat catching the light for a moment as his head tilted back, and all Dean could think of was to have that throat bared underneath him in surrender. Wandering over casually, he leaned on the bar and gave a slow smile.

"Well, hello, tall, dark, and delicious," Dean approached the Omega confidently. "Can I buy you a drink?" 

The blue-eyed Omega smirked at him and reached over, nonchalantly scent-marking him. "Gonna take me home and lick your way to the creamy centre? First, you have to catch me." And the Omega bolted. The chase was on.

Not literally, they were far removed from the days of hunts through forests and fields to mate in the grass like animals, though Dean could picture those blue-eyes staring up at him in the moonlight, and his mouth watered. He followed the Omega slowly, still wondering how none of the other Alphas were reacting. He could still smell him in the air, much less the scent-mark on his throat that was blending with his own coffee and molasses and making him delirious with want. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, then popped them open again, afraid to lose the Omega in the crowd. For a moment he thought he had, but then he saw a dark, tousled head of hair ducking behind the stage where the band was playing something poppy and forgettable, and Dean followed.

The moment he passed behind the curtains, he was grabbed by the shoulders and pinned to the wall. Gasping in surprise, he stared at the Omega who had manhandled him so easily and felt his cock twitching in response. Next thing he knew the Omega was dropping to his knees before Dean and unzipping his jeans. Uncomprehending, Dean watched with a fist against his mouth as the strange Omega lapped over the head of his cock and then wrapped his lips around it. 

Dean stared, his heart pounding. This just wasn't  _ done. _ Sex between an Alpha and Omega was for the purpose of procreation, it was the entire point of these conventions, why they were always hosted at swanky hotels. But this Omega was driving Dean quickly towards a release that would be deemed wasteful, and the very forbidden nature of that realization had Dean climbing towards the precipice at an alarming rate. His hips bucked forward and the Omega moaned appreciatively, his hands pushing and pulling on Dean's hips until he started fucking his mouth in earnest.

Dean thrust mindlessly, overwhelmed by pleasure he'd never even imagined, until he felt the ball of heat in his gut coil tight and hot suddenly, then he was gasping out his orgasm, overcome and shaking. 

"That…" He swallowed against his dry throat, his voice cracking. "That was--"

The Omega interrupted him. 

"Disgusting? Perverse? 'A waste of precious seed'?" He snorted. "Sex should be fun, not this… this…  _ civilized rape _ of our options." He spat the words and Dean nearly flinched at his vehemence.

Dean pulled the Omega to his feet, stroking a still-trembling hand down his jaw, scent-marking him in return. "Actually, I was gonna say that was the hottest thing I've ever experienced…"

The Omega sent him a sharp glance, one that softened to amused understanding. "Then let's head to my room, and we'll see if I can top it."

They slipped out from behind the stage and walked hand in hand towards the exit, when an officious Beta stopped them, wielding her clipboard like a shield to block their path. 

"Names and cities of origin, please! Oh, Castiel, I see you've found someone. At least he appears to be suitable. Perhaps."

"Mother." Castiel looked at the Beta with thinly disguised disdain, and the prim Beta patted her pinned back, carefully coiffed hair as she glanced around. 

"Castiel, please!"

"Ah yes, Naomi. Of course." Castiel turned back to Dean and introduced himself, "Castiel Novak, of Chicago."

"Dean Winchester, Lawrence, Kansas."

Naomi looked as though she'd swallowed a lemon as she consulted her clipboard. Clearly Dean's pedigree wasn't what she was hoping for. 

"I don't know that this pairing will work, there are considerations after all…" she stalled, and Dean pulled Cas against his side, smirking.

"Hey Cas," he asked, "can you tell your mom, I mean, Naomi, what you know about me?" Cas grinned but didn't speak and Dean flushed. "Fine, I'll start. Dark chocolate and cinnamon. He's wearing blockers but I know his scents. Betcha he can tell you mine."

"Coffee and molasses," Cas announced, catching on. 

Dean smirked at Noami. "There you have it. Thanks for the talk, but this is my mate, and we have business to attend to. In other words, fuck your considerations."

Cas stared at him in surprise as Dean led him out of the hall, then moulded himself to Dean's side. Naomi caught up to them at the elevator and caught at Castiel's arm. 

"You will do your duty, Castiel. None of your… proclivities."

Cas stared down at her with a sneer. "Why, Mother, whatever do you mean?"

The elevator doors opened then and Cas simply walked away from the woman who'd birthed him, and Dean gave her a wink and a wave as he followed.

As the doors slid shut, Cas pulled Dean into his arms and kissed him soundly, thrusting his tongue past Dean's lips and claiming him thoroughly. Naomi gave a disgusted noise that was cut off by the doors closing, and Cas broke the kiss to select the floor. The moment he pressed the button, he was back in Dean's arms, kissing him skillfully. Dean was untouched, as most who came to the conventions were kept, their energies meant to be focused on breeding the next generation. But he was a fast learner.

Dean's hands fisted in Cas' hair and tilted his head just so, teasing his lips with his tongue until Cas opened with a smile, then delving past to lick into his mouth. Cas gave a soft moan, an approving sound, and Dean pulled him closer, grinding his hips against the Omega's. When he found the other man was hard against him, he gasped, shocked. 

One of the main tenets of the breeding program was that Omega arousal was rare, and unnecessary to the purpose of breeding. Of course, he mused as he pulled Cas even closer, relishing the feel of him close, if they could manage to collect Alpha seed without their arousal, they'd probably do that too.

Meanwhile, Cas was moaning and rutting against him, and it was setting Dean's nerves aflame. Clearly Cas was enjoying this, and Dean couldn't wait until they reached the room and had some privacy. Cas broke the kiss and nipped and sucked his way down Dean's throat to his scent gland, sealing his lips over it and sucking hard. Dean swore, feeling like it had a direct, pulsing line to his dick, which was more than ready to be back in the game.

Finally, the elevator stopped and they exited in a tangle of limbs, slamming into the wall opposite as they kissed and grappled with each other, hands roaming everywhere. Cas had his hands under Dean's shirt and raked his nails down Dean's back, sending a frisson of pleasure mixed with pain down his spine and somehow making him harder than before.

Cas led the way down the hall to his door, opening it to reveal a sumptuous room. There was a sitting room first with a fireplace, and then a doorway beyond. Dean kicked off his boots and followed Cas like a puppy, staying as close as he could and kissing him again as they crossed the room. Cas chuckled low, a throaty sound that enticed and teased, and Dean suddenly really wanted to be in the bedroom.

Cas tugged him along and opened the door, and there was the largest bed Dean had ever laid eyes upon. Cas spun them suddenly and shoved, sending Dean tripping over his feet until he hit the edge of the bed and fell backwards onto it. Cas crawled up over him, kissing his way up Dean's torso with excruciating slowness, shoving his Henley up about his armpits as he went. 

Dean's breath was coming in low pants by the time Cas reached his nipples, then the Omega latched on to one with his teeth and tugged lightly and Dean cried out, arching off the bed. His dick was rock hard again and pressing against his zipper painfully, and he reached down to rub the heel of his palm against the bulge. Cas chuckled darkly and pulled his hand away.

"Ah, ah, lover. That would be a perversion, seeking pleasure for its own sake? Trust me, I've heard all about the rules," he told Dean in a husky whisper, "and I know all the ways around them."

Cas long, clever fingers quickly undid Dean's jeans and tugged them down his bowed legs, exposing his boxer-briefs. There was a wet spot growing at the end of his dick and Cas teasingly stroked him a few times, then shucked his underwear quickly.

As he kissed his way back up Dean's legs, he nudged them apart and then licked a stripe up and over Dean's sac. Dean jolted in surprise, gasping in pleasure. 

"You like that, baby?" Cas asked with a soft laugh. "Then you're gonna love this." 

Cas tossed Dean's thighs over his shoulders and bent to his hole, and suddenly his tongue was lapping at Dean's pucker. Dean cried out in shock, then a moment later in pleased surprise as the breath was stolen from his lungs. He writhed under Cas' expert touch, his tongue licking Dean open until he was trembling and sweating, his body tense with anticipation. 

What would Cas do to him next?

He made Dean wait though, sitting back and wiping his chin. He stood and carefully removed his clothes, the torn band t-shirt and thin cotton pants hardly the usual clothing for an Omega of an esteemed family. Dean had been so entranced by the Omega that he'd scarcely noticed the clothes. Having met Naomi, he assumed it was a form of rebellion.

When Cas was finally, gloriously naked before him, Dean stared unabashedly. Cas crawled over him again and Dean whined as Cas nestled between his legs again, uncertain how much more he could take. He watched in fascinated arousal as Cas reached back and did something with his fingers, something that sent a shiver through the Omega. When they came back into view, they were shiny and wet, and Dean's mind flashed back to Mr. Adler's health class.  _ Slick, meant to ease the passage for the penis, though frequently artificial lubricant was needed as well as most Omegas didn't produce much. _ As Cas brought his fingers forward, Dean was struck by an overwhelming, delectable scent. Unthinking, he grabbed Cas' wrist and brought his hand to his mouth, licking over his fingers with enthusiasm. 

Cas seemed caught off guard for a moment, then he chuckled softly. "You like that, Alpha?"

Dean sat up abruptly and pulled the Omega into his lap, then spun them both so Cas was on his back beneath him. Cas' eyes widened in amazement and something darker, something weightier that hung in the air between them as that wonderful scent thickened. Following his nose, Dean sank down his body and to Cas' entrance, where he found his hole and cleft shiny and wet with slick, and a damp spot growing under him on the bed. 

Staring up at Cas uncertainly, he hesitated. Cas caught that hesitation and gave him a gentle smile, then spreading his legs wide and back, he put his hand on the back of Dean's head and tugged him closer. Dean waited only a moment longer, then his tongue flicked out and he tasted Cas' slick. Ambrosia. Pure heaven was pouring from Cas' body, and Dean was insatiable.

He licked. He sucked. He delved in with his tongue, and when that was insufficient, he pulled Cas's cheeks apart with his hands and buried his face between them. Cas let out a shocked cry and his hands tightened in Dean's hair, pulling him closer then pushing him away, back and forth until he was rocking his hips and ass onto Dean's hungry tongue.

Dean noticed as he licked that Cas' hole seemed to be softening for him, making for less resistance for his tongue, and tested his theory with a curious thumb, circling Cas' hole for a second to get it wet then pressing into his body. Cas let out a choked gasp and shoved his ass against Dean's hand, sinking his thumb deeper, right to the first knuckle. The liquid heat surrounding him left Dean breathless, and all he could think was how that might feel around his cock.

Dean pulled his thumb free and licked it clean, then sank a finger in, groaning at the tight,  _ wet _ heat. Cas was moaning and shifting on the bed, and Dean thought he might have inadvertently hurt the Omega, and started to draw his finger out. As he moved, the pad of his finger brushed something different, a small raised bump, and Cas positively wailed. Dean withdrew his hand immediately, stammering out an apology, and Cas stretched luxuriously and laughed. 

"Do it again and we'll get along just fine, Alpha," he teased and Dean blushed, nudging a finger back in tentatively. Feeling his way, it took him a few moments to find the spot, but the way Cas tensed and cried out was a dead giveaway. 

Dean watched in fascination as Cas writhed and moaned under his touch and, daring greatly, slid another finger in alongside the first. 

"Feel good, Cas?" he asked breathlessly, and he grinned at Dean wickedly.

"Want to find out?"

That was how Dean found himself on his back with his legs splayed wide, writhing and pleading as Cas drove two slick-coated fingers into him expertly. At first, it had felt a little strange, but as he relaxed pleasure began to sing along his veins, until Cas did  _ something _ and he nearly fell off the bed in shocked arousal. It was like liquid fire running along his nerves, like someone bottled electricity and fed it directly into his nervous system. His entire being began to light up and he panted in delicious anticipation as a ball of tension built in his core. 

Cas grinned up at him and flicked a tongue over his sac, then his mouth found a sensitive spot at the inside of Dean's thigh and bit down lightly. Dean let out a sound that might have been called a whine, if he'd been conscious of the noise, but instead, he pressed his hips down onto Cas' hand and begged.

"More, more, please, I need, I can't…"

"I can give you more, Dean, but I'm not sure you're ready," Cas murmured, his skilled fingers curling as though beckoning inside Dean, calling forth the incredible thrill that rang through him. 

"Please, Cas, anything, fuck, It's too much, it's not enough, fuck,  _ please!" _

Cas crawled up to kiss him softly, one hand still driving fingers deep into Dean's body. 

"You want more?" He withdrew his fingers excruciatingly slowly, then drove them back in hard and fast. Out, slow, then fast in. Dean cried out, bucking on the bed under Cas, moaning as his cock drove against Cas' stomach. "I'll play all sorts of games with your body, Dean, but this? I want you to understand exactly what I mean to do to you." He took Dean's hand and slid it down between their bodies until he could place it on his own cock. "There's your 'more'. Let me inside you."

Dean froze, his hand grasping the hot, silken hardness of another's cock for the first time. He'd been taught since he was a pup that sex was for procreation only, but now, now…

"Yes, now!" he told Cas, pulling him in for a passionate kiss. 

Cas groaned against his lips and reached down between his legs and collected enough slick to coat his cock. Taking a deep breath, he lined up and then paused. Dean met his gaze, one full of lust-filled affection, and no little awe. 

"Dean, you're perfect," Cas whispered, then slowly pressed into his body. Dean gasped and tensed for a moment at the slight burn, but then Cas was mouthing over his throat and sucking on his mating gland. He kissed and nipped until Dean relaxed, then began a slow drag out. Dean whined at the empty feeling, and Cas hushed him softly. "It's alright, Alpha, I'll take good care of you." 

Cas rolled his hips then, gently pushing back in, and Dean whined again as the full feeling returned, rendering him speechless as tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. 

"Cas!" he cried out, clutching at the Omega's strong back, his breath shuddering in nearly a sob.

Cas slowed down even more and met his gaze. "Dean, are you alright? We can stop…" And he began to draw back, the slow drag torture. Dean moved without thinking, wrapping his legs around Cas and locking his ankles together, pulling him closer again. They both let out a groan and then Cas chuckled. "No stopping?"

"Don't you dare!" Dean replied with a choked laugh.

Cas gave a low, husky laugh in response, then kissed him gently. He pushed in slow and deep, circling his hips until Dean cried out. That glowy, electric feeling was building again, and he rutted down against Cas' hips, hoping to feel it again. Whining a little when it eluded him, he gazed up at Cas, pleading silently.

"Need something, lover?" Cas asked, gently teasing as he grasped Dean's hips and tilted his pelvis. 

"Please, Cas. Please!" Dean begged, and Cas suddenly pistoned his hips into Dean. Dean cried out again, wordless and desperate. Cas began a quick, shallow thrust, and Dean felt that magical spot ignite inside him. The flame inside him was suddenly a roaring bonfire, heat firing through his body from his toes to his crown, every nerve tingling on the edge of something, something… Cas thrust deeper again and ground his hips against Dean's ass and he groaned, losing the edge of that magical feeling. 

"Dean, I'm close, you're so tight, Alpha," Cas grated in his ear, his voice gone impossibly deep. 

"Please, Cas, I feel like I'm gonna explode!" Dean groaned, and Cas grinned down at him before sinking down to kiss him deeply. 

"Oh, you will, lover."

Cas began that quick, shallow thrust again and Dean nearly screamed at the sudden jolt, the pleasure thrilling along his veins overwhelming, and still, he could feel it building. The sounds and scents of their coupling filled the room, the heavy slap of skin against skin echoing and rebounding, their panting breaths quickening as the sweet scent of slick and the heavy musk of Alpha arousal floated in the air. 

"Oh, Cas, Cas, I'm going to--I'm…  _ Oh!" _ Dean's eyes snapped open, his body trembling. His head thrashed from side to side, his mouth gaping open as he came in great spurts, spraying across his stomach and chest. Cas slowed his movements, teasing him through the most incredible orgasm he'd ever had. Though to be fair, before tonight they'd been nearly clinical things, a pop to relieve tension, nothing like this mind-shattering, all-encompassing experience. Just when he verged on the edge of hypersensitivity, Cas withdrew completely, his cock red and weeping. 

Dean whined at the sudden empty feeling, staring up at the Omega who had made this night such an incredible experience. As though he'd read Dean's mind, Cas chuckled low in his throat. 

"We're not done yet, Alpha-mine…" he purred, teasing a gentle finger around Dean's tender hole. Dean jumped at how good it felt and Cas gave a husky laugh. "There you go, you're almost ready…"

"Ready?" Dean asked, gulping in a breath. "For what?"

Cas reached back and slicked his fingers, then slid two straight into Dean's body. Dean shouted in surprise and arched off the bed, then fell back with a whimper as Cas toyed with that incredible spot within him. That was when Dean realized he was still hard, his cock standing firmly at attention. 

Cas teased him again a time or two, then gave an apologetic sigh. "If I had any patience I'd bring you again and again, but Dean, I need you."

Dean groaned, fisting his hands in the sheets, then pulled Cas closer to kiss him softly. "How…" He hesitated. "How do I make it good for you?" he asked shyly, and Cas kissed him back gently. 

"You let me worry about that this time," Cas ordered and Dean shivered.

"Yes, Sir, Omega-mine," Dean teased, only to watch the Omega lift a brow and stare down at him. Dean froze like a mouse under a cat's gaze, not quite certain if he was a plaything or if the cat was ready to consume him.

Staring up at his lover, Dean was more than ready to be devoured, and he bared his throat in submission. Cas' eyes flicked down to his mating gland and his gaze heated, then he licked his lips, the points of his canines suddenly visible. 

"Don't tempt me, Dean, I'm not so certain of my control if you offer yourself up like that."

Dean reached down and tugged Cas closer, until the Omega straddled his lap and they both groaned as Dean pressed against Cas' hole, sopping wet and scalding to the touch.

"And if I want you to? I'm not the one who might end up pregnant, pining wouldn't endanger me the way it would you." 

Cas rolled his eyes. "I'm stronger than you might think. That's why Omegas carry and birth the pups." He sighed. "Let's not talk about what's months away. We only have tonight."

Dean swallowed a wave of sudden anger at the system that dared try to keep him from his mate, and rolled Cas suddenly. 

"You're mine, Cas," Dean growled. "Pups or not, fuck the laws. You're mine!"

And without another word, he lined up and thrust into Cas' tight heat. Both Alpha and Omega cried out and Dean started a hard and fast pace that had Cas shouting beneath him. Dean shifted his hips slightly and thrust again, closing his eyes and letting instincts drive him. Cas' nails raked down Dean's back to his ass, gripping it tightly and pulling him in. Dean followed his lover's cue, pounding into him hard. Cas shuddered and moaned as he met each of Dean's thrusts, rocking his hips up and taking Dean deeper until he bottomed out completely, then grinding his hips in a slow, sensuous circle. Dean moaned, capturing Cas' lips and kissing him soundly, then braced himself on one elbow and reached down to grasp Cas' cock. He stroked slowly in a lazy rhythm, a counterpoint to the more frantic thrusting. Slowly, his hand sped up, and Cas showed him how to squeeze a little tighter to make him gasp, and how twisting his palm over the head made his eyes roll back in ecstasy.

Soon the pace of both hands and hips was frantic, and Dean felt himself approaching the precipice once more. He slowed his hips, not wanting to spend too soon, and focused on bringing Cas over the edge. 

"No, Dean, faster, don't stop," Cas ordered, or perhaps pleaded, sweat curling the hair at his temples and behind his ear, and Dean obeyed that broken command, speeding his thrusts again until they were both crying out in shock. Dean felt his knot forming and slammed into Cas' body, locking them together as it swelled, and Cas came, shouting, stripes of thin, watery Omega come painting his torso. His body clenched tightly around Dean's swelling cock and tossed him over the edge in a freefall into ecstasy.

Dean convulsed as Cas' body milked his knot, baring his throat and pleading with his lover. "Give me this, something to know this is real."

A heartfelt groan sounded beneath him, then there was a stab of pain at his throat that rocketed him higher, his sac tightening to his body and he spilled into Cas again as his Omega claimed him.

*** 

Three more times through the night, they coupled, hard and fast and desperate, or slow and sweet, Cas teaching Dean a hundred different things that could bring him pleasure. Everything he'd been indoctrinated to believe about Alphas and Omegas was a lie, and Dean felt a growing resentment against the Betas who controlled these conventions. Betas like his father, who had arranged for him to be here.

Shortly before dawn, Cas' temperature spiked. Worried and feeling guilty, he grabbed a cool cloth from the bathroom, wiping at Cas' brow and over his torso.

"Dean, it's my heat, please, take me," Cas begged. "I ache so much, need your knot, Alpha-mine!"

Dean kissed him softly and slipped into his body one more time, knowing this was their only chance. If Cas didn't catch with pup, their pairing would be forbidden. He moved gently inside his lover, using every trick he'd learned over the last night to bring Cas untold pleasure, carrying him to the edge again and again until it was Cas who was pleading and begging with him. 

"Alpha, Dean, please, I need your knot, give me your pups!" As he fell over the edge, he cried out again, pulling Dean to his throat and ordering softly, "Make me yours, Alpha."

"But if you don't catch…" Dean hesitated, even as he trembled on the cusp of another orgasm. 

"I'll never belong to anyone but you, Dean. Don't let them force me."

Dean nodded, blinking back tears, and set his teeth to Cas' scent gland. Biting down he felt the rush of endorphins as their bond sealed them to one another, and Dean came with a quiet sigh, his body emptying into Cas one last time.

He pressed his lips to Cas' slowly, melding their bodies together and Cas hooked his legs behind Dean's knees, pulling him tighter into him, whimpering as Dean's knot brushed over that spot inside him. His cock spurted weakly, and Cas opened for Dean's lips.

"That, my dearest Alpha, is the difference between fucking, and making love."

They got dressed slowly, neither wanting to leave the other, until Cas' phone rang and he rolled his eyes at the number. He refused to answer it, then grimaced a minute later at the text he received. He refused to show Dean and instead dragged him out to the main room, curling up in front of the fireplace and kissing him sensuously. When the door opened a few minutes later to reveal Naomi, Cas rolled his eyes and kissed Dean again, then pulled him to his feet.

"Well, I can tell you've done your duty, I hope you made the most of it," she spoke calmly, but there was an unpleasant twist to her lips that made Dean suspicious. Suddenly her eyes narrowed, and she reached over and grasped Cas' chin, tilting his head up and over, exposing his throat. "What have you done?!" she demanded harshly, her eyes flashing.

She turned and glared at Dean, who pulled Cas against his side defiantly. "Claimed each other, as mates. We could scent each other despite the blockers, triggered Cas' heat, and all that remains is to wait to see if he's with pup. But you will  _ not _ keep us from each other."

"You fool!" She whipped out a hand and slapped Cas brutally, though he simply turned his head and glared at her. Turning to the enraged Dean, "When Castiel laid hand on you he was lost! You've ruined him!"

Cas stepped forward, staring her down furiously. "I told you I never wanted to come to this. You blackmailed me with Alfie being spared, but you still forced this. You just never expected me to meet my True Mate and get out from under your thumb."

Naomi's face mottled with rage, and she raised a shaking hand to slap Cas again. Restraining herself with clear difficulty, she gave an ugly smile. 

"Only if you pup. If not, you're simply a whore who ruined himself for the sake of a good knot." She sneered at Dean, eyed him up and down offensively. "Or at least I presume."

Cas stepped in front of Dean and faced down his mother. 

"You might as well sign the paperwork, no one will take a claimed Omega off your hands." 

Naomi grabbed Cas by the bicep and shook him. "If you pup, you're all his. I won't reward you for this by handing you over a moment sooner." And she started to haul Cas from the room, sheer rage giving her the power to drag her son along. Dean stepped forward, but Cas glanced over his shoulder and shook his head.

"I'll see you soon, Dean," he promised.

Cas disappeared from the room as Dean watched, his heart aching in his chest.


	2. Chapter 2

Three years later, Dean was working part-time in a family friend's mechanic shop, able to afford an apartment only due to his Beta brother paying the majority of his bills. Sam was a lawyer, fighting landmark cases toward the emancipation of both Alphas and Omegas, but it was a long, hard-fought battle. 

Meanwhile, Dean was known in his small town as a reclusive, morose man. No one wanted to associate with the broken Alpha with his faded claim mark. Whoever heard of an Alpha being claimed, anyway? He was an oddity in Lawrence, Kansas, and miserable. He never dared move though. Cas knew where he lived. If he wanted to find Dean, he'd look here.

He was getting groceries for the week when his phone literally blew up with texts. Grabbing his phone from his pocket, the first he saw was from Charlie. More followed.

Charlie:  _ omg, he did it! Check the news! _

Jody:  _ congratulations, call me! _

Benny:  _ hard fight, brother, but we made it _

Sam:  _ this one's for you. Jerk. _

Dean opened the browser and searched for current news. 

_ Supreme Court rules on the emancipation of Alphas and Omegas, 4-3 in favour.  _

_ Supreme Court frees Alphas and Omegas from Beta rule. _

_ "We're not cattle for their breeding plan!" Says Mayor Novak, first Alpha mayor in Illinois.  _

_ Novak… _ that name was seared into his mind. Clearly it wasn't Cas though, the picture was of a short blond man with a gamin face and golden eyes. He clicked on the article all the same. 

_ Gabriel Novak, Mayor of Aurora, Illinois speaks out. _ Dean clicked on the video link and watched the clip. "I've made my city an asylum for Alphas and Omegas alike, and those Betas who wish us all to live freely together. This ruling by the Supreme Court is long overdue, and we have those like Sam Winchester, Beta Lawyer for the A/O Freedom Alliance, Fergus Crowley, Omega Senator for New York, and his stay at home Alpha husband, Michael, and many others for leading this charge." He stared out of the screen, and his angry golden eyes pierce Dean with the same sort of intensity as Cas' had, for all these were the wrong colour. "--iel, I will find out what happened to you."

Dean nearly dropped his phone in shock. He rewound the clip by twenty seconds and listened again.

"And most of all, for my brother. Castiel, I will find out what happened to you."

Dean's phone dropped from suddenly nerveless fingers, and he watched in horror as the screen shattered and the back flew off. "No, nonono!" He scrambled to pick up the scattered pieces of his phone, and if that wasn't a metaphor for his life, he didn't know what was. 

Abandoning his cart, he ran out of the store and ran to Bobby's, pounding on the door until an irritated Jo opened the door. Seeing him, her expression cleared. "Get your ass in here, Winchester, we're watching the news!"

Dean followed her down the hall to the living room where Bobby and Ellen sat, and Ellen gave him a smile of understanding before she turned up the volume.

"--sults of this landmark decision, what do you think, Bob?" One of the talking heads asked another and Dean budgeted, his very life a matter for public debate of right or wrong.

"I'm for it, I think this has been going on too long. The conventions were a morass of corruption and human trafficking, with Omegas being sold to the highest bidder and Alphas being used as studs, all controlled by the Betas who ruled them." 

Dean shuddered, not for the first time glad that Sammy held his title, rather than John. John had died shortly before the convention, and his title passing to Sammy is likely all that had let him be with Cas, because Sam was hoping for Dean's happiness, not thinking with his wallet.

The thought of Sam reminded Dean of his phone, and he quietly elbowed Jo. "Can you text Sam and tell him my phone's dead?"

"Let me get a charger," she offered, but he caught her elbow and showed her the pieces. 

"Nah. I mean  _ dead." _

"Dumbass. Alright." Her fingers flew over the phone and within minutes it was lighting up like a Christmas tree. 

Dean glanced over her shoulder and discovered she'd texted Sam, Missouri, Charlie, and Benny, and he caught her wrist just as she was typing one out to Jody.

"Tell Jody I'll be there for my check-in at the halfway house tomorrow."

"'Kay. How much longer you gotta do those meetings anyway?" Jo asked, and Dean shrugged uncomfortably.

The first three months after the convention had been a whirl of hope and bliss, knowing that at any moment he'd get the call that Cas was with pup and they could be together. He just  _ knew _ it. 

Then a fourth month passed, and a fifth. By the sixth month, he was drinking too much and getting no more than four hours of sleep a night. By the eighth month, he was frantic.

When nine and then ten months passed by without a word, Dean wrapped Baby around a telephone pole and had lost his license when he'd gotten out of the hospital. The judge had taken one look at his shaking body and sunken eyes, and the way his hand kept straying to a much faded mating scar, and taken pity: community service and check-ins at a halfway house for grieving Alphas with the Sheriff and a counsellor.

"We'll see. It's Jody an' Donna though. You think I'd be able to avoid 'em even if I wanted to?"

Jo mused over that for a moment, then shrugged. "Probably not."

Dean gave his adopted sister a tired smile and went back to watching the news. Unfortunately, there was no sign of the clip he'd watched earlier. Finally, he asked permission to use the family computer, and went looking for news on the Novak family in Illinois. He found depressingly little. Gabriel, the eldest son, became Mayor after being emancipated the year before and was estranged from his parents Naomi and Chuck. There was no mention of Castiel, save for Gabriel's promise in his speech earlier that day. It was as though he'd never existed.

Looking up the email for the Mayor's office, he fired one off, introducing himself as Castiel's mate and begging for any update that Gabriel could provide.

Finally, he stepped away from the computer and said goodnight to his foster family, then walked the three blocks to his dingy apartment. It was a basement bachelor apartment, and he had no phone or internet, but it was his. The days of having to live in Bobby and Ellen's spare room were past, and with the emancipation laws coming, maybe he'd finally be able to crawl out of the hell he'd been living in for over two years. It was hard to believe it had been three years since the convention. B.C., he called it. Before Cas.

He stretched out on his bed and wondered again what had happened to his mate.

*****

"Hello, Sam Winchester speaking," Sam answered his phone, worn out from an arduous day of answering emails and accepting congratulations. He knew the work wasn't done, but he let people celebrate.

"Samshine, how're you doing?" came a smooth, cheerful voice and Sam grinned, even as his cheeks heated at the nickname.

"Mister Mayor, could you please drop the nickname?" he pleaded for the millionth time, though it had become something of a game between them, one Sam enjoyed immensely.

"We need to talk. You've told me a little about your family. Your brother. What was his name again?"

Sam sat up abruptly, all business if Dean was in trouble. Why would the Mayor of Aurora, Illinois be asking about Dean, who as far as Sam knew, was back in Kansas.

"Dean, why?" Sam offered cautiously, and Gabriel blew out a breath.

"You told me he'd had some trouble with the law, when did that start?" Gabriel probed, and Sam sighed.

“Can we meet for a drink? I’ll need one to get through this story,” Sam pleaded, trying to ignore how his heart fluttered at the thought of seeing the Mayor in an even semi-casual setting.

There was a long pause, then Gabriel’s voice came over the line. “You know, if these were any other circumstances, I’d be teasing you about trying to get me alone,” he said, his voice dead-serious, a rarity for the Alpha. “Come by my office, I’ve got a bottle.”

Sam hung up and grabbed his coat, then walked out of his office and four blocks east to City Hall. He waved to the security guard and headed up to Gabriel’s office on the second floor. Gabriel’s secretary, a curly-haired Omega named Meg who was particularly feisty had already left for the day, and Sam was left with a vague feeling of relief. He wasn’t up to her verbal needling today. Gabriel opened the door and Sam stared down at the shorter man, at his blond hair and his neatly trimmed beard framing that smile that made Sam’s stomach do flip-flops.

“Sam, c’mon in,” Gabriel offered, before stepping aside and locking the door behind them. He never used a nickname where someone might hear, but it was still jarring not to hear it now.

“Where do I start?” Sam asked, sitting on the couch and stretching out his long legs. Gabriel handed him a tumbler of whiskey and shrugged, leaning against his desk, his forearms bare with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up. His tie was missing, Sam noted, and he’d undone not one, but two buttons. Enough to expose his mating gland, and Sam swallowed, glancing away quickly. Staring would be rude, but he knew that stretch of unmarked flesh was significant.

“You start by telling me what happened to your brother,” Gabriel prompted

“Three years ago our dad died. He’d arranged to have Dean go to one of those conventions, you know the type…” Sam hesitated, and Gabriel’s eyes darkened in anger.

“I do.”

“Well, we couldn’t manage to back out, but luckily I wasn’t selling Dean’s virginity to the highest bidder. So he went, and when he came back, he had a mating mark and a scent bond.”   
  
“Someone marked him?!” Gabriel asked, showing sincere surprise. “That’s… not usual.”

“I know. He didn’t talk about it much but he was glowing. He kept talking about meeting his mate, and how as soon as he got the call that he was with pup, he’d introduce us.” Sam took a drink and stared into the empty glass. Gabriel offered the bottle and Sam took it, ruefully recognizing that comfort in a bottle was the next part of the tale. “Needless to say, he never heard from his mate. He went downhill. Inside a year, he tried to kill himself, wrapped his car around a pole. His bond had broken, you see. At about the nine-month mark. He was convinced that his mate was unable to contact him for whatever reason, and then died in childbirth.”

Gabriel tensed, then sighed, pouring himself another finger of whiskey, then spoke.

“My brother disappeared three years ago. And when I say disappeared, I mean he almost never existed. I can’t even find his school records, and we went to the same one. My copy of the yearbook has him in it, in his first year while I was in my last. I looked it up online though and he’s gone. But why would your brother contact me now?”

“I’d love to call him and ask, but apparently he destroyed his phone yesterday, and he doesn’t have the money to replace it.”

Gabriel sat next to him, toying with his glass and brooding. “I asked for any word on Castiel on the news. If he saw it--”   
  
“Castiel? Cas?” Sam sat bolt upright. His mind flashed back to visiting Dean and hearing him call out in his sleep for a “Cas”, but he’d never confronted Dean about it, knowing how much pain he was in.

“Oh my god. Time to push that bitch,” Gabriel murmured. He grabbed his cell and hit speed dial. “Judge Brown please, Mayor Novak calling. Thanks.” Biting at his nails in frustration and nerves, he paced, never sitting still. “Joshua, thank god. I need a warrant. No, I haven’t called the chief, this is personal. My brother. I think he might still be in the house. You know what Naomi is like, and the money she has. She could pay for a doctor to break a mating bond, you know that.”

As Gabriel argued with the judge, Sam dialed the chief of police. “Victor, Sam Winchester.”

“Sammy, how’re you doing? We still on for cards tomorrow night?”

“I’m good thanks, and that depends, I might be busy. Mayor Novak needs a search warrant and is on the phone with Judge Brown. You know he’s a stickler.”

“What’s the case?” Victor asked, all business.

“Mayor Novak’s missing brother.”

“You’re lucky, Sam, I know the detective in charge is still in, and I’ll have Balthazar send over a request to the judge in 5 minutes. Location?”

“The family home,” Sam explained the details quickly and hung up. A moment later Gabriel flashed him a smile like the sun coming up.

“Thanks, Judge Brown. Yes, uh-huh. No, I promise, proper channels. See you soon.” Gabriel hung up and strode to Sam’s side, bent, and kissed him soundly.

Sam stared up at him in shock, sitting frozen on the couch. 

“For your help, Samshine.”

Sam gave him a shy smile. “Any time, Gabe.”

*****

Two days later Sam had called Bobby and arranged to have him buy Dean a new phone, with the instructions that if Dean argued, it was a Poughkeepsie situation. Their five-alarm code for an emergency.

Within an hour he had a new phone and called Sam.

“Sammy, what the hell’s going on?”

“I’m booking you a flight,” Sam told him. “Don’t argue.”

“What the fuck Sammy, you know I don’t fly.” Dean paced his dreary apartment, wishing again for his Baby. All such thoughts flew out of Dean’s head the moment his moose of a brother replied.

“He’s alive.”

***

Dean had spent the night panicking over his flight, but now he had a goal in mind. Get to Chicago and to the hospital where his mate was waiting for him. Sam picked him up at the airport and Dean didn’t even have the energy to tease his brother about his greenmobile. 

“So Naomi’s been arrested?” he asked again, and Sam nodded.

“On more charges than I can count,” Sam answered firmly, settling something inside Dean. "Including conspiracy to commit murder. Their younger brother Alfie was at the next convention. And, ah… he didn't make it. She sold him. Used the money on Cas' surgery."

He swore. “She really paid to have the bond broken, huh?”

“Yeah. And Dean, she had a plastic surgeon work on him too, so his mating scar is gone.”

Dean shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. He’s my mate.”

They pulled up to the hospital and Sam was able to pull into a green parking space near the doors. Dean started to run in and Sam caught his arm. “Wait for me, I’ll get you in to see him. On paper he’s unmated, remember?”

Dean huffed angrily and sat back. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to be calm. Finally, they headed into the hospital and Sam called up to the floor where Cas was being treated for malnutrition and three years of abuse. They popped into the elevator and Sam pushed a button. 

“Dean, you should know…”

“Sammy, whatever it is, let him tell me, please,” Dean replied, his nerves already on the breaking point.

The elevator doors opened and before he could even react, a flying blur launched itself at him, then everything was right in the world. Cas clutched at him, crying hysterically, and Sam nudged them out of the elevator before the doors shut. Dean cradled his Omega, ignoring the tears that fell from his own eyes, and scooped Cas into his arms. Cas wrapped his too-skinny legs around Dean’s waist and nuzzled at his throat, scent-marking him again and again, and Dean returned the favour, holding the frail body carefully in his arms.

Finally, far too soon, Cas dropped his legs and stood on his own, though he wobbled a little. He turned in Dean’s arms and led him down the hall. Dean scarcely saw the room number, he was so busy staring at his lover, when suddenly, there was a cry from within. Cas bolted from his arms, rushing through the door and out of his sight. Panicking again, Dean ran after him, only to stop, shell-shocked. Cas was holding a toddler, maybe two years old.

“Dean,” Cas looked up from the child’s face nervously. “I want you to meet Jack.” The young pup looked up at Dean with wide, uncertain eyes. "Jack, this is your Daddy."

"Dah-dee?"

Dean crouched next to the bed where Cas sat with the small pup, and held out his hand. The pup flinched a little, then reached out shyly. Curious, Jack brought Dean's hand to his nose and sniffed softly. His eyes filled with wonder, and he looked up at Dean in amazement. 

"Hello, Jack. I love you, baby," Dean whispered, gathering the small pup in his arms and holding his family close. He heard Cas sob softly, but his scent was full of relief, so Dean simply held him while he cried. "Cas, I love you. It's always been you."

Cas lifted his head and met Dean's gaze with watery eyes, the tears only making them shine. Dean swore then that the only tears would be happy ones. 

"Dean, it's been so hard…" Cas told him, and Dean held him close. 

"I can't even imagine. No one is ever going to separate us again, sweetheart."

**Author's Note:**

> Love Destiel? Join us on Discord's [ server for like-minded chats, friendly people, and inspiration for reading and writing!](https://discord.gg/rUFErcY)


End file.
